Community Focus Grants

Boys and Girls Club El Dorado County Western Slope$22,500

Every day, forgotten and severely at risk youth walk through our Clubhouse doors. We can’t simply just ask our kids if they are ok. We must and we do delve deeper to ensure they really are ok. This is what happens in our SMART Girls program. The Club is asking that the WFED be our title sponsor for our 2016-2017 SMART Girls program at our new facility in Placerville by granting $22,500. Over 80 vulnerable young ladies from the ages of 8-17 will participate in the program through the course of the year. SMART Girls offers age-specific experiences that enhance girls’ physical and emotional health, creating a sound foundation for them to feel GREAT about themselves, their bodies and their future! Anna, an 8 th grader, saw her father leave two years ago and leave behind a trail of abuse, neglect and mistrust. Anna has tried to commit suicide, nearly dropped out of school and has been in and out of counseling the past three years. Anna was very alone when she first came to the Club but the relationships she has formed and the strength she has shown in dealing with her past is empowering. Help us ensure that Anna and her peers do not fall through the cracks. Help us create a foundation of character and positive self-identity that allows these young ladies to dream big and be all they wish to be. Help us ensure that their tomorrow is far better than their yesterday. For more information on Boys and Girls Club, see www.bgce.org.

Only Kindness, Inc. assists individuals in El Dorado County who are at-risk, whether housed or homeless, with safety net services. The purpose of the Street Outreach Mobile Office (SOMO) Project is to bring services directly to those who need it most. Transportation to and from sites where services are typically offered can be difficult in this rural area, especially for those with limited or no resources. The SOMO Project will bring services to people where it is easiest to access us; close to their homes, campsites and places where this population generally congregates. We will provide in-depth screenings and determine each individuals needs and respond by providing on-site service and resource acquisition. We will initiate immediate referrals, provide front end case management and warm hand-offs while participating in required data collection for HUD’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). This will also enable us to perform at a higher level for our 3-year county contract called Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH). PATH provides services to people with serious mental illness, including those with co-occurring substance abuse disorders who are experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of becoming homeless. We will assist in securing phones, ID’s and social security benefits from the field. For extremely high-risk, vulnerable populations, the first step is often the hardest; we intend to make that first step highly efficient and valuable to the clients we serve. For more information on Only Kindness, Inc. see www.edcrc.org.

Our program is focused on human trafficking prevention education. 3Strands Break Free Education provides this education to middle school, high school and college students and to at-risk foster youth. The program was established in 2011 with the primary focus to educate students about various risk factors, tactics of exploiters and legal aspects of human trafficking to prevent and encourage identification of exploitation. 3Strands also provides teachers and school staff tactics and tools to prevent, identify, and respond to human trafficking and delivers research metrics for risk reduction. Break Free Education was founded in 2011 after a 17-year-old girl was taken from a grocery store in the sleepy community of El Dorado Hills and trafficked for eight days before she was found and rescued by the FBI. Because this topic is not discussed, especially in the small towns, students are not aware of the problem, let alone that it could happen to them. We believe that creating awareness and shining a bright light on human trafficking will help prevent it. For additional information on 3Strands Global, Inc., see www.3strandsglobal.com.

Impact Grants

Acorn: for any new western slope nonprofit or a nonprofit that has never received a grant from the Women’s Fund.

Windows to my Soul$5,000

Windows To My Soul provides proven, alternative mental health services utilizing horses as additional therapeutic partners, working alongside a licensed human therapist. We seek to help those who suffer from untreated or unsuccessfully treated mental illness. Traditional talk therapy fails to change the brain’s neural pathways, which is required to heal from PTSD. Our Veterans Program helps those who, without successful treatment, may end up being one of the over 50 U.S. Veterans who attempt suicide every day. We are asking for your help to fund additional therapeutic sessions, as most of our services are provided for free. For additional information on Windows to my Soul, see www.windowstomysoul.org.

The non-profit agencies serving El Dorado County struggle with the major issue of transportation for their clients. This need was clearly identified and discussed at the Women’s Fund El Dorado Community Needs Forum. This issue has plagued our organization, The Center for Violence-Free Relationships, for decades. In collaboration with Uber, we have uncovered a remedy. Using a business solution that Uber will create, the money awarded by this grant will pay for critical rides to and from the Center for services at a discounted rate. For more information on Center for Violence-Free Relationships, see www.thecenternow.org.

Community Benefits: for any nonprofit providing services for the arts, environment, community beautification, animal welfare, or community development.

Master Gardeners of El Dorado County (UCCE)$5,000

After more than ten years of dreaming, planning and building, last October, the UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County held the Grand Opening of our Sherwood Demonstration Garden. The SDG offers a wonderful place for visitors to experience hands-on learning in a beautiful and sustainable environment of 16 individual gardens. In our 5 year funding plan, several items need to be completed as soon as possible to maximize our goal of educating our gardening public. Priorities are plants, electric irrigation valves, and educational signage and handouts. Funding from WFED can help us transform these needs into reality. For more information on Master Gardeners of El Dorado County, see www.mgeldorado.ucanr.edu.